Conflict Between Intellectual Property Rights and Human Rights: A Case Study on Intangible Cultural Heritage

54 pagesThe ability to protect and safeguard cultural heritage is of vital importance to some communities. Without the ability to maintain control over these expressions, external subjects could freely appropriate them, which could negatively affect the community’s identity, spirituality, and general well-being. Increasing awareness regarding cultural heritage provides momentum to better define a legal framework for the protection of the intangible goods that constitute cultural heritage. It is fundamental to ascertain whether the current intellectual property right (IPR) regime represents an adequate model of protection vis-à-vis intangible cultural heritage (ICH). The culture’s unique concerns, which variably affect ICH, make it difficult to compare the rationales for these two legal domains. These concerns are pivotal in elaborating the need for legal protection

Intellectual property rights and the future of plant breeding in Canada

Canada has a long history of investing in agricultural research, with public funds playing a dominant role for most crops up until recently. With the advent of biotechnology in the 1980s, the research industry underwent significant transformations. Crops more amenable to the application of DNA modification techniques (e.g., canola) gained considerable attention by the private sector and experienced an influx of private R&D investment and proliferation of intellectual property rights (IPRs). IPRs have changed the nature of knowledge from being non-excludable to being excludable, thus affecting the nature of research benefits and research incentives. The advantages and disadvantages of a stronger IPR system in Canadian agriculture are currently hotly debated in policy circles. This thesis develops a theoretical model that describes the incentives for innovation and the distribution of benefits from research when such innovations are protected by Plant Breeders' Rights (PBRs) versus patents. Specifically, the research industry is modeled as a monopolistic seed company undertaking research, developing a new variety and selling it to heterogeneous farmers. The difference between PBRs and patents is embodied in the farmers' decision that incorporates the possibility of seed saving envisioned by PBRs, but not by patents. The simulation results show that under certain conditions PBRs can be as effective as patents in encouraging R&D activity, and that the share of farmers in total benefits is generally smaller under patents than under PBRs. The benefits under patenting regime, however, are not necessarily smaller in absolute terms. This dissertation also develops a game theoretic model to study the impact of IPRs on the sharing of research inputs. The results reveal that when two private firms compete in a differentiated product market, they will have an incentive to protect their technologies and maintain exclusive rights. Therefore, sharing within private industry may be a challenge. As IPRs proliferate, however, a lack of incentive to share/cross-license may not be confined to private industry. IPRs may also impact the propensity of public researchers to protect or share their technologies. To address the issue of sharing and assess the efficiency of the current IP protection system in the Canadian plant breeding industry, interviews with wheat and canola breeders were conducted. The responses suggest that, in general, patents have become more prevalent in both industries over the last decade, which has, in turn, reduced germplasm and information flows and increased secrecy. There is also evidence that patents undermine R&D efforts in some potentially promising areas of research and make freedom to operate in the breeding industry a concern

Distal Horizons: An investigation of the justifiable downstream limits to the positive protection of traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources within drug discovery

International initiatives, such as the Nagoya Protocol to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (the Protocol), have created (or are creating) “access and benefit sharing” rights which seek to ensure that genetic resources and traditional knowledge associated with such genetic resources (“TKAGR”) cannot be used without the consent of rights holders. These initiatives (including the Protocol) are unclear on how far non-consensual “use” extends to man-made downstream derivatives of the products of genetic expression. It also gives no guidance as to the degree to which control over TKAGR should extend throughout the drug discovery process. This work demonstrates how such TKAGR entering into a drug discovery process will be diluted with other information, used as an inspiration for further research, or for the development of research tools which may, in turn, lead to further discoveries and highlights how useful drugs may be very distal from the original inspiration provided by the TKAGR. This work also examines the causal link between an original piece of TKAGR and remote “downstream” uses of that information within drug discovery. It identifies “serendipitous” discoveries of unexpected second uses as a potential point at which the causation in law link to distal use may potentially be broken. This thesis examines the high level normative justifications for these rights, and in particular uses consequentialist/utilitarian, contribution/desert claims and distributive justice (Rawlsian maximin) claims to test their justifiable scope

A framework for preservation of digital resources in academic libraries in South Africa

The aim of the study was to examine the implementation of digital preservation practices in academic libraries in South Africa in the light of the rapid changing information environment. The study looked into the strategies, systems and tools being employed to support digital preservation programmes and the costs associated with the various digital preservation programmes. The study was guided by various digital preservation theories and models,namely Davies’ (2000) Policy, Strategy and Resources (PSR) troika model, Kenney and McGovern’s (2003) three leg stool, Corrado and Moulaison‘s (2014) preservation triad and the Carnegie Mellon University’s (1990) Digital Preservation Capability Maturity (DPCM) model and Open Archival Information System (OAIS) model by OCLC (2002), underpinned by the survey research design, triangulation of questionnaires and document analysis as data collection methods. Out of 27 questionnaires distributed to academic institutions, 22 (81.5%) were completed. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive analysis whilst content analysis was used for qualitative data obtained from document analysis. Findings revealed that academic libraries in South Africa were significantly affected by the changes to the digital environment. Most academic libraries face many challenges that hinder the effective implementation of digital preservation. The problems include: lack of funding, lack of skills and training and technology obsolescence. The study identified migration, bit preservation, replication and risk management approaches as the most widely implemented preservation strategies to address preservation challenges faced by academic libraries in South Africa. Although various preservation systems and tools are being developed to enable description, discovery, delivery and preservation of digital collections, there was expressed lack of awareness about digital preservation standards and preservation support organisations. The study also observed that, in some instances, the academic institutions were not fully involved in collaborative and partnerships with other institutions. By collaborating and partnering with other institutions, they would be exposed to new ideas, strategies and tools, and be able to acquire knowledge and skills needed to successfully preserve and manage their digital resources. The findings revealed that the implementation of policies and strategies, provision of adequate resources, sufficient funding and digital preservation knowledge and skills are some of the major factors influencing digital preservation sustainability in academic libraries. This study, therefore, recommends that these institutions can address some of the digital preservation challenges if they leverage on these factors. The study also made several recommendations on how digital preservation can be successfully implemented, and it further proposed a framework for preservation of digital resources in academic libraries, mapped to international preservation models and standards.Information ScienceD. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science

The regional integration of African trade mark laws: challenges and possibilities

Doctor Legum - LLDThe need to harmonise laws in Africa has grown in importance in view of the envisaged African common market. Economic integration cannot flourish without an effective regional legal framework. There is fragmentation in trade mark protection in Africa as evidenced by the existing two sub-regional organisations namely, the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) and the Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OAPI). The absence of a single regional legal framework has resulted in African countries not having a coherent strategy for advancing their common interests in regional and multilateral negotiations. African countries have acceded to agreements which do not reflect their interests such as Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS). African countries have also been signing Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) which contain higher intellectual property protection standards than the minimum standards prescribed by TRIPS. The purpose of this study is to formulate a proposal for the integration of trade mark laws in Africa, with a view to strengthening the regional legal framework. A consolidated regional position, based on an integrated legal framework, will strengthen Africa’s participation in negotiations. This will in turn ensure greater regard for, and better protection of, Africa’s interests and concerns. Trade mark laws are important as they can hinder or promote trade. Harmonised trade mark laws will create legal and commercial certainty as well as predictability, which is crucial for the promotion of trade and foreign direct investment. The central argument advanced is that the areas of convergence in the laws under study and in the way the laws are interpreted can form the basis for the harmonisation of Africa’s trade mark laws

The political economy of regionalism: Regional integration arrangements and Africa\u27s development. COMESA in a comparative context

This thesis adopts a comparative approach to examine the role of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) in the promotion of socio-economic and political development in Eastern and Southern Africa. The thesis begins by providing a theoretical background to the concept of regionalism. It then traces the emergence of regionalism within the political economy of the international system, beginning from the era of mercantilism to the era of globalization. It then provides a critical overview of the European Union (the EU), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Common Market of the Southern Cone (MERCOSUR) and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and analyses the achievements of these regional integration arrangements in so far as meeting the socio-economic and political development needs of their respective regions is concerned and builds the framework within which COMESA is compared vis-a-vis these regional integration arrangements. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)Dept. of History, Philosophy, and Political Science. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2005 .M66. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 44-03, page: 1217. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2005

How Nations Learn

Authored by eminent scholars, the volume aims to generate interest and debate among policymakers, practitioners, and researchers on the complexity of learning and catch-up, particularly for twenty-first century late-late developers. The volume explores technological learning at the firm level, policy learning by the state, and the cumulative and multifaceted nature of the learning process, which encompasses learning by doing, by experiment, emulation, innovation, and leapfrogging. Why is catch-up rare? And why have some nations succeeded while others failed? What are the prospects for successful learning and catch-up in the twenty-first century? These are pertinent questions that require further research and in-depth analysis. The World Bank estimates that out of the 101 middle-income economies in 1960, only thirteen became high income by 2008. This volume examines how nations learn by reviewing key structural and contingent factors that contribute to dynamic learning and catch-up. Rejecting both the one-size-fits-all approach and the agnosticism that all nations are unique and different, the volume uses historical as well as firm-level, industry-level, and country-level evidence and experiences to identify the sources and drivers of successful learning and catch-up and the lessons for late-latecomer countries. Building on the latecomer-advantage perspective, the volume shows that what is critical for dynamic learning and catch-up is not learning per se but the intensity of learning, robust industrial policies, and the pace and direction of learning. Equally important are the passion to learn, long-term strategic vision, and understanding the context in which successful learning occurs

The drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility in the supply chain. A case study.

Purpose: The paper studies the way in which a SME integrates CSR into its corporate strategy, the practices it puts in place and how its CSR strategies reflect on its suppliers and customers relations. Methodology/Research limitations: A qualitative case study methodology is used. The use of a single case study limits the generalizing capacity of these findings. Findings: The entrepreneur’s ethical beliefs and value system play a fundamental role in shaping sustainable corporate strategy. Furthermore, the type of competitive strategy selected based on innovation, quality and responsibility clearly emerges both in terms of well defined management procedures and supply chain relations as a whole aimed at involving partners in the process of sustainable innovation. Originality/value: The paper presents a SME that has devised an original innovative business model. The study pivots on the issues of innovation and eco-sustainability in a context of drivers for CRS and business ethics. These values are considered fundamental at International level; the United Nations has declared 2011 the “International Year of Forestry”

Excavating buried memories: mnemonic production in the railways under London and Berlin 1933-2013

In this thesis I explore the production of social memory in the subterranean infrastructural landscapes of the London Underground and the Berlin U- and S-Bahn within a period spanning roughly the last eight decades between 1933 and 2013. To do this I apply an approach that is interdisciplinary in scope, comparative in nature and lies at the nexus of transport and cultural history, historical and cultural geography, and memory, landscape and heritage studies. More specifically this approach necessitates an engagement with the theories and literatures related to landscape, social memory and urban infrastructures in order to create new ways to study the cultural geographic and historic characteristics of urban underground railways, whilst simultaneously problematising the biased application of landscape approaches in non-urban contexts and contributing to the re-theorisation of the relationship of landscape and infrastructure. This is achieved by establishing ‘the social memories of landscape’ as my central focus, and the actors, processes, structures and discourses implicated in the production of a variety of ‘buried memories’ as my main concerns. Thereafter, and upon establishing the main components of this research’s mixed methodological and case-orientated comparative approach, I use a series of empirically grounded comparative excavations to shed light on how social memories are produced in the physical, representational and experiential landscapes of the Underground, U- and S-Bahn as exemplified by their cartographies and toponymies, realised and unrealised memorials, and alternative and creative uses of their ruins and vestiges. These excavations contribute in turn to new understandings of the mnemonic actors, processes, structures and discourses that have particular influence and resonance in these urban underground landscapes, and hence serve to demonstrate how the Underground, U- and S-Bahn’s subterranean transport contexts influence the production of social memory